At the end of 2013, the long-awaited guidelines of the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC8) were published. These guidelines developed nine specific recommendations for the management of arterial hypertension. The harmonization of blood pressure treatment thresholds and goals represents a convenient simplification for the practicing physician. However, the recommendations did not come without controversy. Especially the raise of the treatment goal in patients aged 60 years or older was criticized. In this and other aspects, the 2013 guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology and European Society of Hypertension (ESC/ESH 2013) share a different point of view. The article tries to summarize the different viewpoints and to provide an overview over the increasing number of hypertension guidelines.
Keywords: Behandlung der Hypertonie; ESC/ESH guideline; ESC/ESH-Leitlinie; JNC8 guideline; JNC8-Leitlinie; lignes directrices de l'ESC/ESH; lignes directrices du JNC8; traitement de l'hypertension artérielle; treatment of hypertension.